Meheti'a or Me'eti'a is a

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...

island in the

Windward Islands french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean Sea Nor ...

, in the east of the

Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = "Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of French ...

. This island is a very young active

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and p ...

east of the Taiarapu Peninsula of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Aust ...

. It belongs to the Teahiti'a-Mehetia

hotspot Hotspot, Hot Spot or Hot spot may refer to: Places * Hot Spot, Kentucky, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Hot Spot (comics), a name for the DC Comics character Isaiah Crockett * Hot Spot (Tra ...

. The island has an area of and its highest point is 435 metres (1,427 ft). The peak is a well-defined

volcanic crater A volcanic crater is an approximately circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a bowl-shaped feature containing one or more vents. During volcanic eruptions, molten magma and volcanic gases rise from an und ...

. In 1981 the island was the centre of earthquakes.

History

Tahitian oral tradition holds that navigators stopped at Mehiti'a, which was regarded as sacred, on their long voyage to New Zealand. This oral history correlates with geological evidence found in southern

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

which can be traced back to Mehiti'a. The early Polynesian voyagers commonly gave Polynesian ancestral names and symbolism to new places. The high point of Mehetia is Mount Hiurai (Hi’ura’i/Hikurangi) The name Hikurangi in Aotearoa / New Zealand probably came from Mehetia and the name Hi’ura’i probably has its origin in Si'ulagi (Si'ulangi) in Ta'u, Samoa. The first European sighting was by the Spanish expedition of Pedro Fernández de Quirós on 9 February 1606, that charted it as ''Decena'' (ten in Spanish).Corney, Bolton Granvill ''The quest and occupation of Tahiti by emissaries of Spain during the years 1772-1776'', London, 1913, Vol I, p.XXX Later on it was sighted by Samuel Wallis in HMS Dolphin 1767 and

Louis Antoine de Bougainville Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (, , ; 12 November 1729 – August 1811) was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he took part in the Seven Years' War in North America and the American Revolut ...

in 1768. It was also sighted by Spanish navigator Domingo de Boenechea on November 6, 1772, on ship ''Aguila''. He named this island ''San Cristóbal''.

Administration

Meheti'a is administratively part of the commune (municipality) of Taiarapu-Est and of its easternmost

commune associée In France, associated communes (french: communes associées) were created by the Commune Merger Act of July 16, 1971 (also called the ''Marcellin Act''). It permits the formerly independent communes to maintain certain institutions, such as * a del ...

Tautira. The island is uninhabited and does not have much vegetation but has a small coral reef on the underwater slopes.

References

External links

Mehetia in Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program database
{{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub Volcanoes of French Polynesia Stratovolcanoes of France Active volcanoes Islands of the Society Islands Uninhabited islands of French Polynesia

History

Administration

See also

References

External links